prepping for the pga - Carolinas Golf Association

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the Carolinas Golf Association
Winter 2011/2012
PREPPING
FOR THE PGA
JEFF STONE READIES
KIAWAH ISLAND’S OCEAN COURSE
for its ‘major’ debut
The Big switch
making a case for
bermudagrass greens
short drives
top-notch resorts
across the border
CONTENTS � WINTER 2011/12
FEATURES
PREPPING FOR THE PGA / 12
Jeff Stone, superintendent
at Kiawah Island Resort’s
Ocean Course, is getting
ready to host South
Carolina’s first major — the
2012 PGA Championship.
THE BIG SWITCH / 14
Golf course architect
Richard Mandell makes a
case for clubs to consider
bermudagrass greens.
JUST OVER THE BORDER / 16
Three great resorts are just
a short drive away from the
Carolinas.
DEPARTMENTS
PRESIDENT’S NOTE / 4
A great year for amateur golf.
MILESTONES / 6
News and noteworthy events
around the Carolinas.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE / 8
McConnell Golf adds TPC
Wakefield to its stable, Forest
Creek GC to host 2013 U.S.
Mid-Amateur, and more.
LEADERBOARD / 22
Results from the 2011 CGA
Championship season.
2 / CAROLINASGOLF
Last summer, the inaugural Founders Cup
celebrated the legacies of the people
who conceived, cultivated, and nurtured
SWING DOCTORS / 26
How to hit more fairways.
FINAL WORD / 28
The benefits of Web-based
handicapping systems.
Grandfather Golf & Country Club in
Linville, N.C. See how their vision became one
of the foremost golf venues in the Carolinas.
ON THE COVER
Jeff Stone, superintendent at Kiawah
Island’s Ocean Course.
Photography by Michael Cyra.
Photography Scott Pearson
20
Vision to
Landmark
PROFILE / 24
David Canipe finds his own
“Northern Exposure.”
PRESIDENT’S NOTE
Carolinas Golf Association
A Great Year for Amateur Golf
/ by Walter Todd, President, Carolinas Golf Association
Executive Director / Jack Nance
Director of Championships / Ray Novicki
Director of Course Rating and Handicapping / Michael Dann
Director of Tournament and Internet Operations / Andy Priest
Director of Women’s Golf / Tiffany Priest
Director of Junior Golf / Jason Cox
Director of Media and Marketing / Doug Hardisty
� This has been a great year for amateur golf. Amateurs
won two events on the Nationwide Tour and performed very
well in PGA Tour events, as well as the U.S. Open. I enjoy
seeing this and will admit to pulling harder for the nonprofessionals. The CGA is, after all, an association dedicated
to amateur golf.
Agronomist / Dr. Leon Lucas
Tournament Coordinator / Chris Nielsen
Tournament Coordinator / Rita Longest
Office Manager / Johnnie Gebhardt
Administrative Assistants / Judy Wimmer
CGA Office:
Phone: (910) 673-1000 / Fax: (910) 673-1001
carolinasgolf.org or [email protected]
Mailing Address:
CGA, P.O. Box 319
West End, NC 27376
Physical Address:
CGA, 135 N. Trade St.
West End, NC 27376
Executive Committee Members
Walter Todd
President
Musgrove Mill
Golf Club
J. Richard Dosek
Vice President
Oak Valley Golf Club
G. Jackson Hughes Jr.
Secretary
Greenville (S.C.)
Country Club
Daniel R. O’Connell
Treasurer
The Creek Golf Club
Steve G. Hinshaw
Past President
Country Club of
North Carolina
Randy Allen
Grande Dunes
Golf Club
Rick Riddle
Cedarwood
Country Club
Frank H. Edwards
Charlotte
Country Club
Todd Satterfield
Furman University
Golf Club
Frank C. Ford III
Country Club of
Charleston
Mike Smith
Greenville (S.C.)
Country Club
Lawrence C. Hicks
Greensboro
Country Club
Gene Spencer
The Windermere
Club
Nancy Mayer
Biltmore Forest
Country Club
Thomas J. Thorpe
Tanglewood Golf
Association
Rion Moore
DeBordieu Club
Charles E. Lynch Jr.
General Counsel
High Point
Country Club
D. Gregory Norris
Pine Valley
Country Club
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Carolinas Golf is the official publication of the Carolinas Golf Association. Members receive
Carolinas Golf as part of their membership. The text, opinions, and views expressed
within this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions or the official policies of the
Carolinas Golf Association, editor, and publisher. No part of this magazine is intended as an
endorsement of any equipment, publication, videotape, website, golf course, or other entity.
No part of this magazine may be reproduced for any reason without prior written approval
from the CGA. We welcome all editorial submissions but assume no responsibility for the
loss or damage of any unsolicited material. They will not be returned unless accompanied
by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
Carolinas Golf, P.O. Box 319, West End, NC 27376-0319.
Copyright © 2011, Carolinas Golf Association. Products and services mentioned in this
publication may be trademarks of their respective companies.
4 / CAROLINASGOLF
It is exciting to see the amateur player compete successfully against
the world’s best professionals. However, in most cases for the top
players, the amateur game has become just another step in their
journey to professional golf.
I understand that, and I would never want to discourage a
capable player of following his or her dream to make the PGA
Tour or to play on the LPGA Tour. I am also aware of the financial
benefits and other perks that are realized when someone achieves
success on these tours. Plus, it is of great interest to me to see the
many Carolinians who are doing so well on these various tours.
There are many of today’s talented young players whom I would
advise to try the professional route. However, I believe it is not always
in the best interest of some of these players to turn professional, and I
believe there is a place in the game for the career amateur.
I realize that with the number of professional tours and the
media’s interest in the professional game, there is sometimes less
attentiveness to the amateur game and its top tournaments than
there has been in past years. With that being said, I still believe the
amateur player is the heart and lifeblood of the game.
I look forward to some of today’s top players remaining amateur
and making it their goal to compete in their state amateur and the
Carolinas Amateur, as well as other top state, regional, and national
events. I also trust that these players will make it a priority to
represent their states in the Tarheel Cup, Palmetto Cup, and the
Captain’s Putter Matches — or set their goals even higher, on the
Walker Cup. I hope today’s more flexible work schedules will make
this possible, and I wish them well.
The relationships and the experiences forged through both the
amateur and the professional game will last a lifetime and enrich
the journey.
I am going to leave you with a quote that is dear to my heart. It’s
from a poem called “The South Country” by Hilaire Belloc, and was
used by the writer O.B. Keeler when speaking about the greatest
amateur of all time, Bobby Jones, and his thoughts on retirement:
“If ever I become a rich man, or if ever I grow to be old, I will build
a house with a deep thatch to shelter me from the cold, I will hold my
house in the high woods within a walk of the sea, and the men that
were boys when I was a boy shall sit and drink with me.”
This is my last column as president, and I have been genuinely
humbled and honored to have served.
Thank you and enjoy your game!
MILESTONES
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 4
Magazine Staff
carolinasgolf
Executive Publisher / Michael Dann
[email protected]
Associate Publisher / Edward J. Peabody
[email protected]
Managing Editor / Steve Wilke
[email protected]
Design Director / Ken Cendrowski
[email protected]
Graphic Design Interns / Bianca Iacopelli,
Stephanie Walters
Copy Editor / Anne Berry Daugherty
Production Director / Trudie Lippert Cloyd
[email protected]
Senior Production Artist / Robert Gorczyca
Production Artist / Stephanie Brossy
Contributors / Michael Cyra, Kevin Fales,
Bob Gillespie, Richard Mandell, Jack Nance, Reid Nelson,
Karen Nicoletti, Lee Pace, Walter Todd
HOUR Custom Publishing
National Accounts / Andy Walters
(248) 691-1800, ext. 104 • [email protected]
North Carolina and South Carolina / David Norman
(804) 747-4971 • [email protected]
Ad Coordinator / Jamie Gnebba
(248) 691-1800, ext. 128 • [email protected]
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Phone / (248) 691-1800 Fax / (248) 691-4531
Address changes and subscription information
should go to Carolinas Golf,
P.O. Box 319, West End, NC 27376-0319
or [email protected].
6 / CAROLINASGOLF
News & Noteworthy Events
Around the Carolinas
� Bob Seligman, a career journalist and frequent
contributor to Carolinas Golf, died in September of a form
of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 61. Seligman was
a sportswriter for The Journal News in New York during
the 1970s and 1980s, and was the former editor of Golf
Product News.
� Neal Irwin Baker of Charleston, S.C., died in August at
age 61. He attended Georgia State University and was a
member of Temple Beth Elohim Reformed Congregation.
The real estate developer and owner of Neal Baker Inc. had
a passion for golf and contributed to the South Carolina
Junior Golf Foundation, as well as to The College of
Charleston golf team.
� The father-and-son duo of Mike Adams and Bob Adams
both competed in the 50th Carolinas Senior Amateur
Championship at Columbia CC in Columbia, S.C., in
September. While the Carolinas Golf Association doesn’t
keep records of such rare occurrences, it is safe to assume
that few fathers and sons have competed against each other
in a championship created for golfers aged 55 and older. But
that’s what happened when the 55-year-old Mike tried to
match strokes with his 80-year-old father. Both of the Adams
earned their way into this 54-hole championship at an 18hole sectional qualifier by posting 7-over-par 78s to finish in
a nine-way tie for the final qualifying spots.
� Sarah Hirshland was named the USGA’s new senior
managing director of Business Affairs. She was a senior
vice president in charge of strategic business development
at the Wasserman Media Group in Los Angeles, Calif. Prior
to that, she worked for OnSport, a Raleigh, N.C.-based
sports and entertainment consulting firm. A graduate of
Duke University, Sarah was one of the founding employees
of Total Sports in Raleigh, N.C., an online sports news and
technology company.
� Pinehurst CC member Ken Eichele was featured on The
Golf Channel’s special Golf in America on Sept. 11. Eichele,
the former battalion chief for the Upper East Side Fire
Department of New York City, was previously featured on The
Golf Channel when it highlighted how golf saved his life on
9/11 in 2001. That day, he was qualifying for the Mid-Amateur
in Westchester, and left immediately after being called about
the tragic events happening in the city. The Golf Channel
special returned to check in on Ken and wife June for the
10th anniversary of 9/11.
MILESTONES
� It was a big PGA Tour season finish
for three past Carolinas Players of the
Year. Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, and
Dustin Johnson finished 1st, 2nd and
4th respectively in the final FedExCup
standings. Haas — who is from
Charlotte, N.C., attended Wake Forest
University, and was the CGA’s Player
of the Year in 2003 — didn’t prevail in
the first two playoffs he participated
in during the 2011 season. But he won
his third, and most lucrative, attempt.
He beat Hunter Mahan with a par on
the third extra hole to claim both the
FedExCup and the Tour Championship
by Coca-Cola. With the $10 million
FedExCup bonus, the win was worth
$11.44 million. Haas came into the
FedExCup ranked 25th in points
— a long shot to win. Simpson — a
Raleigh, N.C., native, Wake Forest
grad, and 2006 CGA Player of the Year
— was the FedExCup points leader
before the event, but finished in 22nd
place. Johnson — who grew up in
Columbia, S.C., and attended Coastal
Carolina University — took the CGA’s
Player of the Year honor in 2007.
� Bill Haas (above, 1999)
Photography courtesy of the CGA and the USGA
� The Carolinas Golf Association named Doug Hardisty of
Pinehurst, N.C., as its director of Media and Marketing. The
57-year-old Connecticut native will coordinate and oversee the
CGA’s website and the implementation of new technology to
support CGA activities. In addition, he will be responsible for
interaction with media outlets and for developing new marketing
initiatives to help grow the association’s club and member
rosters. Hardisty spent 22 years in the printing and graphics arts
industry, and in 2000 he formed his own company, US Digital
Solutions LLC, which specialized in new technologies for small
business. He is a member of Pinehurst CC and the Pinewild CC
of Pinehurst.
� Charles M. “Chuck” Borman received the Distinguished
Service Award from the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents
Association during its annual conference and trade show in
November. Borman was the association’s executive director
for two stints beginning in the late 1990s. Under his leadership
the association experienced significant growth in membership,
services, and revenue. The Distinguished Service Award is the
highest honor the 1,800-member association bestows.
� Webb Simpson (above, 2001)
� Dustin Johnson (above, 1998)
� Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., was named Rolex Junior
Player of the Year on the strength of wins at the Polo Golf Junior
Classic and the Junior PGA Championship, and four additional
runner-up showings. In 2010, Proveaux won the CGA SC Junior.
The Rolex Junior Player of the Year award recognizes one boy
and one girl who had the most outstanding year in junior golf
events at the national level. Past recipients have gone on to the
PGA and LPGA Tours,
including Tiger Woods,
Phil Mickelson, Charles
Howell III, Hunter Mahan,
Scott Verplank, Cristie
Kerr, Paula Creamer, and
Morgan Pressel. A senior
at Pelion High School,
Proveaux is a two-time
Rolex Junior All-American
and has given a verbal
commitment to continue
his golf career with the
� Cody Proveaux
Clemson Tigers.
WINTER 2011/12 / 7
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE sponsored by
� McConnell Golf Adds TPC Wakefield to its Stable
McConnell Golf LLC has purchased its eighth Carolinas golf club — TPC
Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C., host of the Nationwide Tour event,
The Rex Hospital Open. The highly ranked private course adds to McConnell’s stable of offerings and also adds another course architect to the fold.
Former U.S. Open champion and PGA Tour player Hale Irwin designed the
217-acre course. Other McConnell Golf courses were designed by the likes
of Donald Ross, Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, Arnold Palmer, and Greg Norman.
“TPC Wakefield gives us a Nationwide Tour presence, along with a
PGA Tour presence with the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield,”
said John McConnell, CEO and president of McConnell Golf.
McConnell Golf has 3,000-plus members. Initiation at one club gives
members access to eight properties. TPC Wakefield — which opened in
2000 — is a par-71, 7,257-yard championship course. In addition, TPC
Wakefield has a 2,700-yard, walking-only nine-hole layout.
For more information, visit mcconnellgolf.com.
� TPC Wakefield Plantation No. 18
� Carolinas PGA Returning Home to Greeensboro
The Carolinas Section of the PGA announced it will lease property and
relocate to Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C.
The organization currently is located in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Plans are to
build a new office building on land that will be leased for 40 years, with
an automatic renewal for the next 40 years at a cost of $1 per year.
The CPGA holds an annual merchandise show as one of its major
events. The show is scheduled for 2012 and 2013 at the Myrtle Beach
Convention Center, and is held in conjunction with the CPGA’s annual
meeting and awards dinner.
Bryan Park has hosted the 2001 Carolinas Women’s Senior, the
2002 North Carolina Mid-Am, and the 2002 Carolinas Parent–Child
championships, as well as significant events on the amateur and
collegiate levels. Last summer, it was the site of the U.S. Amateur
Public Links Championship.
For more information, visit carolinas.pga.com.
8 / CAROLINASGOLF
� Forest Creek GC to Host 2013
U.S. Mid-Amateur
Forest Creek Golf Club near the Village of Pinehurst
has been selected by the USGA to host the 2013 U.S.
Mid-Amateur Championship, Oct. 5-10, 2013. The
championship will be played on the North and South
courses, both of which were designed by Tom Fazio.
“We are honored and grateful that the USGA has
entrusted our golf club with the distinct honor of hosting one of its prestigious national championships,”
said Forest Creek Golf Club President Terry Brown.
This will mark the first USGA championship for Forest
Creek, although the club has previously hosted sectional qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S.
Girls’ Junior championships.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship is open to
amateur golfers at least 25 years of age who hold a
USGA Handicap Index no higher than 3.4. For more
information, visit usga.org or ForestCreekGolfClub.com.
New CGA Member Clubs
Hilton Head National Golf Club,
Bluffton, S.C. (associate)
Lowcountry Women’s Golf Association,
Hilton Head, S.C. (affiliate)
Greensboro National Golf Club,
Summerfield, N.C.
Photography of TPC Wakefield Plantation: Amy Bagley
Forest Creek photography courtesy of the course
� Forest Creek South, No. 18 (as seen from No. 9 green)
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
� Dormie Cup Fundraiser Picks Up Steam
The 2nd annual “Dormie Cup” at the renowned Dormie Club in
West End, N.C., featured a “War Between the States” — and raised
more than $25,000 to benefit Wounded Warriors and other charities.
The team of Philip Kelley and Benji Schlottman of Advance, N.C.,
fired rounds of 65-76—141 to edge the Leesville, S.C., team of
brothers Caleb and Cody Proveaux by one stroke. The one round of
better ball format and a second alternate shot round took place on the
par-71 design by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, which was recently
named No. 3 in the U.S. in Golfweek’s “Best New Courses.”
The Dormie Cup was initiated by Patrick Cover (Huntersville) and Thomas Walsh (High Point) to give back to the
community. In 2010, a dozen junior golfers divided into
two teams for an event modeled after the Ryder Cup.
They raised more than $10,000, and the CGA’s junior
program received a $7,200 donation.
This year, 24 nationally ranked junior golfers
from North Carolina and South Carolina played a
two-man team event. Each participant raised a
minimum of $1,000 — and gathered more than
$25,000. Some funds will go to the First Tee Program of the Sandhills; the majority will benefit
the Wounded Warrior Program, which assists
veterans who return from action with injuries.
Participants also collected 351 new
golf hats to send to troops overseas.
� The Dormie Cup was initiated by Thomas
Walsh (left) and Patrick Cover.
10 / CAROLINASGOLF
Adding to the festivities, Dormie Cup participants surprised golf
legend and local resident Peggy Kirk Bell, who turned 90 on Oct. 28,
with a birthday card and a rendition of “Happy Birthday.” In addition, two Wounded Warriors caddied during the tournament.
Tournament organizers also established a “Charles G. McCartney
Award” that was presented to David Sargent of
Cornelius, N.C., in recognition of his fundraising efforts, sportsmanship, and how he
represents the game of golf and the American spirit. The award is named for Thomas
Walsh’s great uncle, who received two Purple
Hearts and a Bronze Star.
For more about the Wounded Warriors, visit woundedwarriorproject.
org. For more information about
Dormie Club, call (910) 947-3240
or visit DormieClub.com.
Photography courtesy of the Dormie Cup, photo of
Harbor Town Golf Links courtesy of the course
� Harbour Town Golf Links No. 18
� Pete Dye Completes Harbour Town Tweaking
Pete Dye has completed enhancements to Harbour Town
Golf Links — the architect’s iconic masterpiece at The Sea
Pines Resort.
Forty years ago, the home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage
opened to much fanfare. With Dye’s renovations, the layout
has been lengthened by 150 yards, a handful of trees were
removed to improve sightlines, and a select number of bunkers
were reshaped or extended to bring hazards back into play.
Sea Pines also tapped Dye to create Heron Point on the
site once occupied by the Sea Marsh course. Dye fashioned
an entirely new layout using the existing routing. Golfers face
a sequence of risk-reward shots, fairways that slope toward
hazards, and Dye’s signature mounding and swales framing
target areas.
Sea Pines also boasts the Ocean Course — the island’s
George Cobb/Mark McCumber design with an emphasis on
the traditional principles of course architecture.
The resort’s award-winning Inn at Harbour Town has
also been completely revitalized and refreshed. For more
information about the resort and golf packages, visit
seapines.com or call (866) 561-8802.
Photography courtesy of the course
� Prestonwood CC’s Golf Learning Center
Caps Renovation Effort
In early July, Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C., debuted its
Golf Learning Center. Led by Tom Ream, the center houses the latest
state-of-the-art technology and equipment.
Prestonwood’s Director of Golf Operations Larry Conner recalls a
past discussion with club owners about the project. He had presented
a printout of extensive interactive website instructions posted by
Ream. After reviewing the information, the owners told Conner: “You
hire Tom Ream, and we’ll build you a golf learning center.”
The 2,500-square-foot building includes indoor and outdoor bays
and a 10,000-square-foot grass teaching area tee box. In addition, the
center has a V1 swing analysis video system, indoor putting studio
with the S.A.M. PuttLab putting analysis system, S.A.M. BalanceLab,
K-Vest, and TrackMan launch monitor. “I’m like a kid at Christmas,”
said Ream. “Everything a golf instructor could want is right here.”
The Golf Learning Center offers a multidisciplinary, personalized
approach. Core instruction areas include the long game, short game,
putting, golf fitness, and club fitting. The center has customized oneto four-day game improvement programs for individuals and groups,
year-round clinics, and member-sponsored corporate programs.
Prestonwood also offers strength training and golf-specific exercise
programs from a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Instructor.
Prestonwood CC, established in 1987, has 54 holes of golf. Three
years ago, it contracted architect Rick Robbins to renovate its trio of
18-hole golf courses. The third and final piece of his handiwork was
� Prestonwood Country Club
unveiled Labor Day weekend, when the freshly renovated Highlands
Course reopened with rebuilt green complexes featuring A-1
bentgrass and select bunkers that were replaced by collection areas
and grass hollows.
For more information, visit prestonwood.com.
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FEATURE / 2012 PGA Championship
Prepping for
the PGA
Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course to Host
South Carolina’s First Major
/ written by Reid Nelson / photographs by Michael Cyra
(Editor’s Note: It takes significant preparation to host a major golf
championship like the 2012 PGA Championship. As part of a series of
stories leading up to the big event, Carolinas Golf talks with Jeff Stone,
superintendent at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course, to find out what goes
on behind the scenes to get a course ready to challenge the world’s best
golfers — and to handle the crowds that follow them.)
When the PGA of America announced it was
moving the 1991 Ryder Cup Matches from
PGA West to Kiawah Island — a strategy to put
one of golf’s most popular events three time
zones farther east for prime-time viewing by
millions of fans in most of Europe — the course
that would host the “War by the Shore” was yet
to be built. Naturally, it wasn’t long before golf
enthusiasts, media, and the players themselves
were calling and even visiting the popular resort
island south of Charleston to find out what was
taking shape at the Ocean Course.
The CGA visited the praised layout just
four years later, when Charleston veteran amateurs Bert Atkinson and Frank Ford III battled for the South Carolina Amateur Match
Play title. Atkinson won, 6 and 5.
Fast forward 16 years, and Pete Dye’s gem,
stretched out like an emerald-green necklace
amidst the sand dunes and sea oats along the
Atlantic Ocean, is now etched into the mind’s
eye of golf fans around the world. Not only the
closest Ryder Cup in history — which came
down to the last putt of the last day’s last
match, Bernhard Langer’s anguishing miss in
his match against Hale Irwin — but two World
Cups and a Senior PGA Championship have
12 / CAROLINASGOLF
left indelible images of the now-famed Ocean
Course on golf’s history book.
The Ocean Course stands poised to make
history yet again by hosting the first “major”
ever to be staged in South Carolina when the
2012 PGA Championship is played Aug. 9-12.
And though the game itself has changed greatly since the course made its Ryder Cup debut,
don’t expect to see a “different” Ocean Course
when the PGA comes to the Lowcountry.
Unlike most courses picked to host a
major in the last 10 years or so, The Ocean
Course has undergone no major face-lift, no
dramatic lengthening, and no severe toughening-up in preparation for next year’s PGA.
Yes, there have been a few tweaks, but ones
so subtle that most players and fans alike may
not even notice them.
“Honestly, no. Thinking back to the ’91
Ryder Cup, I don’t think they are going to
see a noticeable difference,” says Jeff Stone,
Ocean Course superintendent.
That’s because of something best termed
the “Brilliance of Pete Dye.” When Dye was
constructing The Ocean Course in 1990, the
game was just on the cusp of a technological explosion unlike any since hickory and
gutta percha gave way to steel and balata. Dye
anticipated the dawn of the power game and
built his seaside test accordingly. Even at its
unveiling, The Ocean Course had tees that
stretched its total yardage to more than the
7,606 yards that will be shown on the official
scorecard for the 2012 PGA.
Still, that hasn’t kept Dye and the PGA
of America from making a few minor adjustments. For example, a new tee at the par-3
14th will make the hole 238 yards for the
PGA pros. When Eduardo Romero effectively
lost the 2007 Senior PGA to Denis Watson,
pulling his tee shot into a steep bunker face
just left of the green on the way to a double
bogey, the hole measured 194 on the card.
“And we built a new tee on 18 that adds
about 35 to 40 yards to that hole, so it plays
anywhere from 490 to 505 now,” Stone says.
“The PGA (of America) wants to keep drives
on top of that ridge, instead of letting players hit it over the ridge and catching the
downslope there.”
Of course, the entire 18th hole is new. The
hole where Irwin and Langer made history was
abandoned to make room for a new clubhouse
prior to the Senior PGA coming in 2007. The
“new” 18th — very similar to the original hole
— still rises and falls as it doglegs right, but
now sits much closer to the ocean.
Including the 2005 National Professionals Championship, the PGA of America has
played three premier events at The Ocean
Course, and Managing Director of Championships Kerry Haigh has set up the course for
each one. Thus, he is intimately familiar with
the course and the challenge it can present, depending on the elements. He knows well that
this is a course that needs little special preparation to get ready for the game’s best players.
“The golf course is hard enough as it is,”
Stone says. “When Kerry came up, he said,
‘Look, you don’t really have to do very much
to this golf course to toughen it up. It’s already a pretty tough test of golf.’ ”
“It will be (my) fourth set-up, but every
(tournament) brings unique challenges,”
Haigh says. “Those who have played the
course know that it not only changes from
day to day, but often during the day.”
“The concern with getting our
greens any quicker, of course,
is their exposure to the wind we
have out here. … You get much
quicker than 11, the ball starts
oscillating.” —Jeff Stone
The Golf Digest top 100 voting panel
agrees, ranking The Ocean Course as the most
difficult course in America in its latest poll.
Haigh plans to draw on his experience setting up The Ocean Course, but knows that
ultimately, as with any seaside venue, how the
course plays is in nature’s hands. “The official
yardage will probably be longer than we play it
every day,” he explains. “That will allow us to
use the back tees whenever appropriate when
the wind is helping on those holes. Then we
won’t hesitate to move forward on a hole or
two, if weather conditions dictate we do so.
“During the Ryder Cup here, I was moving tee locations 15 minutes before the first
group teed off due to the wind,” he adds. “We
can do that only so much with a stroke-play
event. The morning is the only time that you
can make that decision. If the winds switch,
as they often do along the ocean, it becomes
a challenge to select the fairest tees so that the
holes play as they were meant to be played.”
Some things are in Haigh and Stone’s
control, however. For example, Stone says
that he has been asked to have the paspalum
greens at The Ocean Course rolling at 11 on
the Stimpmeter for the championship. “The
concern with getting our greens any quicker, of
course, is their exposure to the wind we have
out here. … You get much quicker than 11,
the ball starts oscillating,” he says.
Also, Haigh has determined the fairway
cuts that will be used for the PGA, and Stone
already is maintaining the fairway and rough
lines just as the pros will see them.
“Kerry came in in the spring of this year
and we marked all of the fairway and rough
lines then,” Stone says. “So basically, what
you find the golf course playing today, as far
as fairway lines, that’s what it’s going to play.”
Because The Ocean Course is part of the 90hole Kiawah Resort offering, anyone wishing to
test their skills against the same course that will
challenge tour pros next August can do so —
right up through July 2012. Stone says Kiawah
plans to keep the course open for resort play
until approximately 10 days before the PGA.
Until then, Stone and his crew will be busy
preparing areas for corporate hospitality pavilions, TV trucks, a large media complex, merchandise tents, bleachers, and the like. Water
lines and electricity will have to be run to most
every facility, and countless other infrastructure details must be attended. Construction of
these various facilities will begin in May.
“The challenges at Kiawah will be the same
challenges we face at any course,” Haigh says.
“You’re building a small village for the seven
days of the championship, and putting all that
together is a challenge at every venue.”
Haigh is right, of course. But if you talk
to the players who are looking at competing
for the Rodman Wannamaker Trophy, symbolic of a PGA champion, the only challenges
they’re concerned with involve sand, sea oats,
and the ever-present wind that makes The
Ocean Course one of the toughest tests in
golf — one that has needed very little tweaking as it prepares to host its first major.
� Reid Nelson is a writer and public relations
professional based in Charleston, S.C.
WINTER 2011/12 / 13
FEATURE / Agronomy
THE BIG SWITCH
BERMUDA GREENS ARE SIMPLE LOGIC
/ written by RICHARD MANDELL
“We are a bentgrass greens club,” proclaimed one Carolinas green
chairman I have been working with since 2004. I really don’t know what
that means or why anyone should care.
Is it because we all think that bent greens are
the only answer, as in: “That’s the way it has
been done in the past?” If so, that is probably one reason the golf business is suffering
today. Just because we have always done it is
not a reason to stick with a failing element of
one’s business. Bentgrass putting surfaces in
the South are a failing element.
Frankly, what the above club is today is a
“bentgrass greens club” with dead greens —
and contemplating the next move. For years
now, this club has employed one of the most
talented superintendents in the Carolinas.
This poor guy has suffered through countless
brutal summers trying to keep his bentgrass
greens on life-support.
He really has no hope to pull it off suc14 / CAROLINASGOLF
cessfully, as do few others in his position
across the Carolinas. All the talent in the
world does not change the obvious: Growing
cool-season grass in a warm-season climate is
like fitting a 3-inch round peg into a square
with 2.5-inch sides. We have been jamming
that peg into the hole for too long now, and
it just doesn’t fit. You don’t need to be an
agronomist to understand that.
Even good intentions can provide bad
results. Years ago, Southern clubs had bermudagrass greens. Many older courses even
had sand greens. This particular course with
dead greens originally had bermudagrass
putting surfaces.
Extreme grain issues and slow speeds
doomed the original “bermudas” in favor
of lower bentgrass with cutting heights that
led to faster putting speeds. Over the years,
newer, more improved bent cultivars burst
on the scene like new car models. These had
the ability to push the green-speed envelope,
but with them came a whole bunch of maintenance regimens.
Like countless other places, the “dead
greens” club took advantage of this new
technology when bentgrass cultivars were
developed to withstand temperatures far
above what was acceptable for a cool-season
climate, and in the early ’90s it made the
conversion to bentgrass.
Using bentgrass on putting surfaces
requires lots of labor and effort to maintain
the health of the turf. A variety of chemicals
is needed, as well as a lot more water —
just accepted parts of everyone’s maintenance budgets. Additionally, the USGA’s
own green construction specification (a
layering of materials intended to ensure
even irrigation distribution on surfaces and
consistent drainage below) has become
� Architect Richard Mandell recently
renovated Orangeburg CC’s golf course,
successfully using a bermudagrass
cultivar for the new greens.
more and more requisite to support the
“bents” at a construction cost almost twice
that of traditional push-up greens.
Despite their best efforts, each summer
brings more and more challenges for the golf
course superintendent to keep his or her
putting surfaces alive, much less playable.
It seems like we didn’t have these
problems a decade ago like we do now. Are
the Carolina turf managers getting worse at
their jobs?
Of course not. In fact, our golf course
superintendents are more educated and
knowledgeable than ever. So what is the
problem?
Golfers keep raising the bar, pushing the
envelope, demanding more and more speed.
Technology responds. Nature just cannot keep
up, even with more and more “improved”
cultivars. As water becomes a scarce commodity, it will only get more and more difficult to
maintain bentgrass greens in the dead heat of
the summer playing season — no matter how
genetically engineered they are.
Recently, though, a silent savior has
appeared in the distance and is gaining momentum. The exiled “bermudas” are returning, more advanced than ever before. They
are more conducive to lower cutting height,
have less grain than their predecessors, and
maintain their green color longer.
But most importantly, these new Ultra
Dwarf “bermudas” are simply warm-season
grasses engineered for a warm-season
climate. It doesn’t matter how much science
is behind these grasses; they are the 3-inch
circles made for the 3-inch holes. In other
words, they are a perfect fit.
Two of my most recent projects (The
Reserve at Pawleys Island and Orangeburg
Country Club) built their greens with a
bermudagrass cultivar, and the members
couldn’t be more pleased. As are the superintendents.
So just think of the logic behind this
conversion: A putting surface grass whose
peak performance time also happens to be
the busiest stretch of the golf season. On the
other hand, you can consider the deposed
bentgrasses, which suffer greatly in the
summer. I prefer grasses which perform well
in place of grasses that struggle at the most
critical juncture of our golf season. These
new bermudas can be had for less cost, less
water, less chemicals, and less daily effort.
� Richard Mandell is a Pinehurst-based golf
architect. This past summer, he celebrated his
21st year in the business.
WINTER 2011/12 / 15
FEATURE / Travel
Top-Notch Resorts are Just Over the Border
Looking for a quick golf getaway outside of the Carolinas? Several
top-notch resorts are just a short drive away. From oceanfront and
lakeshore to mountain retreat, here are three of the best resorts
across the border.
Oceanfront Gem: Sea Island, Georgia
/ by Reid Nelson
Sea Island and The Cloister have been synonymous with elegance and luxury since automobile executive Howard Coffin purchased
tiny Long Island on the south Georgia coast,
renamed it Sea Island, and began developing
amenities for the well-heeled in the 1920s.
Over the eight decades that followed, Sea
Island had few rivals when it came to ranking
the top oceanfront resorts.
Some of the game’s most acclaimed architects, including Walter Travis, Charles H.
Alison and Harry S. Colt, Robert Trent Jones,
Dick Wilson, and Joe Lee left their marks on
the area. Interestingly enough, they designed
nine-hole layouts — Plantation (1927), Seaside (1928), Retreat (1959), and Marshside
(1959). Because Sea Island is so small, all 36
holes were built on neighboring St. Simons
Island, where Lee added the St. Simons
Island Club in 1975.
In recent years, the resort’s entire golf
complexion has undergone a dramatic facelift. First, Rees Jones was hired to combine
the former Plantation and Retreat nines into a
completely new Plantation Course, with views
of the Atlantic and St. Simons Sound. Next,
Tom Fazio combined the Marshside nine with
Colt and Alison’s original Seaside nine into a
revamped Seaside Course. The course, which
16 / CAROLINASGOLF
has hosted several USGA championships,
annually hosts the McGladrey Classic, part of
the PGA Tour’s Fall Series.
Finally, Davis Love III completely renovated St. Simon’s Island Club into what is now
called the Retreat Course. Shorter than its
7,000-yard siblings, the 6,500-yard layout still
boasts a course rating of 73.8 from the tips,
less than a stroke shy of Plantation’s rating.
With the golf course renovations complete, the Sea Island Co. turned its attention
to accommodations and amenities. Gone is
the historic, original Cloister. In its place is a
grand and modern hotel with a still-inviting,
although different, charm. The “new from
the ground up” Cloister has received Forbes’
(formerly Mobil) Five-Star award three years
running and, just this year, Travel + Leisure
magazine named it one of “America’s 50 Best
Hotels for Families.”
Want to stay closer to the golf? Opt for The
Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club, an intimate
Five-Star, Five-Diamond hotel ranked among
the world’s best by Travel + Leisure, the Zagat
Survey, Golf Digest, and USA Today. The Lodge
offers opulence at every turn, down to the
marble baths and 24-hour butler service. And
with Colt & Alison’s Bar and The Oak Room
restaurant right downstairs, you don’t have to
leave the building for food and drink equal to
the finest any city has to offer.
Pride of Lake Oconee: Reynolds
Plantation, Georgia
/ by Reid Nelson
When Georgia Power created Lake Oconee
in 1979, the waters that flooded forests and
farmland also engulfed a little, rustic cabin
that served as a getaway spot for the late Mercer Reynolds Sr. The Greene County native
had parlayed his business success into ownership of some 7,000 acres along the Oconee
River, and years ago he built a woodland
chateau called “Linger Longer” to help sate
his love for hunting and other outdoor sports.
When word came down that Georgia Power would be damming the river to create the
lake, the Reynolds family decided to leave the
quaint hunting lodge intact, minus its doors
and windows, so that some of Oconee’s fish
population would have a place to reside.
If the Reynolds family patriarch could
only see what has replaced his beloved
Linger Longer cabin as the crown jewel at
the resort community that bears his name,
Reynolds Plantation.
Located smack in the middle of four of
Georgia’s most prominent cities — Atlanta,
Athens, Augusta, and Macon — Reynolds
Plantation is one of golf’s premier resort
and residential communities. With six golf
courses and nearly 30 miles of shoreline
along Georgia’s second largest lake, Reynolds
Plantation is the perfect getaway — and an
easy 75-minute drive west of Augusta via I-20.
Once there, guests can indulge themselves
in the AAA Five-Diamond luxury of the
Ritz-Carlton Lodge, where 251 rooms and
suites, as well as six golf cottages and the
5,400-square-foot Presidential House, await.
The Lodge itself occupies 35 acres of Lake
Oconee shoreline and boasts a casual elegance
Photography courtesy of the courses
Short Drives to
Great Golf
For families looking to spread out, Sea
Island offers The Cloister Ocean Villas, as well
as some 200 private homes and condos available for vacationing guests. Fully furnished
residences range from three to eight bedrooms, and many have a private pool. Guests
enjoy membership at the Sea Island Club,
with access to resort dining and amenities.
seaisland.com, (866) 879-6238.
� The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club — Sound Vantage Point
� Primland
� Reynolds Plantation — Reynolds Landing No. 2-3-4
� Primland
� Sea Island, Seaside No.13
� Primland
� Reynolds Plantation — Oconee Clubhouse Lounge
� Reynolds Plantation – Plantation Course
� Sea Island
WINTER 2011 / 17
FEATURE / Travel
— far different from the urban polish you
get at an “in-town” Ritz like the property in
Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood.
Much of the décor, including massive
stone fireplaces, rich wood paneling, and
heavy exposed beams, recalls the Lodge’s
woodland setting. The award-winning spa, a
27,600-square-foot facility, has a treatment
menu with a distinctly Southern flair and
numerous water-inspired therapies.
Dining opportunities are varied — from
the refined elegance of the Linger Longer
Steakhouse or the relaxed atmosphere of
Georgia’s Bistro to the ultra-casual cuisine
served poolside at Gatsby’s by the Lake.
But the “real” reason to visit Reynolds
Plantation is golf. Ninety-nine holes of it,
to be exact. And that doesn’t include “The
Kingdom,” TaylorMade’s state-of-the-art tech
center where Tour players (and those of lesser
abilities) can get a Tour-quality clubfitting
experience. Once you are fitted, your clubs
are custom built for you on-site, and you’re
ready to hit the links.
The only question is which course to
play. First, there’s the original Plantation
Course. Designed by Bob Cupp, in collaboration with Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert
Green, the course put Reynolds Plantation
on the golf map, and it’s still a favorite with
residents and guests alike.
In 1992, Jack Nicklaus added the Great
Waters course, which hosted the Anderson
Consulting World Championship of Golf from
1995-97 — the tournament that evolved into
the Accenture Match Play Championship. By
the way, “Great Waters” is the English translation for the Creek word, Oconee.
Since then, architects Tom Fazio and
Rees Jones have left their signature — Fazio
authoring the 27-hole National course and
Jones adding the Oconee, which in 2007
hosted the PGA Cup Matches, the club professionals’ equivalent to the Ryder Cup.
Across Highway 44, at Reynolds Landing,
Cupp built what was originally opened as Port
Armor. Now part of Reynolds Plantation’s golf
offering, the Landing course has undergone
extensive renovation, making it again one of
the state’s top-ranked public-access courses.
The latest addition to the Reynolds lineup
is the Creek Club, a Jim Engh layout reserved
for member play only. But with 99 other holes
18 / CAROLINASGOLF
to play, you likely wouldn’t have time to try
to talk your way onto the Creek Club course,
anyway. And with the creations of architects
like Nicklaus, Fazio, Jones, and Cupp awaiting you, who needs to?
reynoldsplantation.com, (888)298-3119.
Blue Ridge Beauty: Primland, near
Meadows of Dan, Virginia
/ by Bob Gillespie
You’ve probably seen outlandish reproductions, usually on a clubhouse locker room
wall, of Loyal H. Chapman’s “Dream” and
“Infamous” series. The fantasy holes depict
an impossible tee shot over, say, Niagara
Falls or the Grand Canyon to a tiny green
floating in a stream or carved into a cliff wall.
Standing on the elevated tee of the par-3
second hole at The Highland Course at Primland, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains
near Meadows of Dan, Va., players can relive
memories of those mind-bending figments of
the artist’s imagination.
The left-to-right-canted green sits 195
yards away, hard against rocky outcroppings
on the left while, to the right, a precipitous
drop to a pine-clogged valley yaws menacingly. Even the best players swallow hard
before hitting.
That feeling doesn’t end there. Scottish
architect Donald Steel’s six-year-old, 7,053yard design, with its large bentgrass greens,
fescue rough, and huge elevation changes,
requires sharp focus so as not to be distracted
by the majestic views — as if the Highland
Course, named one of America’s best new
courses in 2007 by Travel + Leisure Golf, and
Golf Digest’s best new public course ($75 and
over), wasn’t already enough of a challenge.
“There is a remoteness about Primland,
a sense of escape, that is special,” says Steel,
whose Carolinas work includes Cherokee
Plantation in Yemassee, S.C., and a renovation
of The Farm course at Greensboro Country
Club. “Primland sits on top of the world,
(with) views that stretch the vocabulary and a
design that is very different.”
Different … and difficult. “We adopted a
policy of discouraging (high-handicappers)
from playing it,” says Primland spokesman
Sandy Gardiner. “(Those with handicaps of)
18 or less are fine, but we made the decision
to market to golfers at a decent level.”
The 12,000-acre resort just north of the
Virginia-North Carolina line draws visitors
from the Southeast, Washington, D.C., Ohio,
New York, and even Europe. They come for
crisp mountain air, jaw-dropping views, and
the awesome isolation and quiet; for the
elegantly appointed fairway cottages and the
72,000-square-foot Lodge at Primland, with
26 rooms and suites, and sumptuous dining
at Elements and in the 19th Pub; and for the
centerpiece Observatory, located atop the
Lodge’s rooftop silo and boasting one of the
lowest light-pollution counts in the U.S.
But mostly, they come for the golf.
It’s a year-round resort, with hunting and
fishing from September to April, and The Spa
at Primland, Gardiner says. “But golf is absolutely the biggest draw.” He laughs. “Of course,
75 percent of hunters are golfers, too.”
The Highland Course keeps them coming
because Steel — whose resume includes
membership in the Royal & Ancient, serving
as president of the English Golf Union, authoring several books, plus designing 70 golf
courses — didn’t settle for a merely excellent
location. He demanded more.
“(Steel) was invited to come and look
at the land and compete for a contract,”
Gardiner says. “He looked at the property
at the bottom of the mountain and said to
an employee: ‘Is there anything you haven’t
shown me?’ He found this finger of land at
the top of the mountain, like a peninsula atop
an island, and thought it would be ideal.”
Steel’s minimalist philosophy fit perfectly
with the site; only two holes — the first,
where the fairway route was dynamited
through a rocky ridgeline, and the 17th,
where some dirt was moved — required
changes to topography. The results are rolling,
climbing, and plummeting fairways and vistas
that are, Gardiner says, “arresting.”
The view from the second shot atop a
plateau at the par-4, 484-yard 18th has a vast
green below, the Lodge perched on a ridge to
the left, and mountain views to the right. It’s
a fitting end to a round where the scores —
but rarely the sights — might be forgotten.
“Golf courses have been built in every
landscape imaginable,” Steel says, “but only
rarely on mountain peaks.” Or, once upon a
time, in an artist’s dreams.
primland.com, (866) 862-0476.
FEATURE / Carolinas Heritage
From Vision
to Landmark
The Founders of Grandfather Golf & country club
/ written by Lee Pace
creation of the original Eseeola Inn. Eventually
the MacRae family would own nearly 16,000
acres of land in Avery County.
Grandson Julian Morton lived in Wilmington and was an accomplished golfer and an
early president of the Carolinas Golf Association in 1934 and 1935. He taught his daughter Aggie to play golf, and
she was an excellent competitor as a young girl. At age 15, she won
the consolation bracket of the championship flight of the Women’s
Carolinas Amateur. She played on the boys’ golf team at New Hanover
High and made the quarterfinals of the 1948 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Aggie’s brother Hugh had fiddled with golf as a youth but developed a keen interest in photography. He was a counselor at a camp in
Linville in 1939 when a tow-headed 14-year-old boy shockingly took
the lead in the first round of the prestigious Linville Men’s Invitational.
The sports editor of The Charlotte News called the club for a photo of
the lad and the golf staff summoned young Morton to take a picture;
he then shipped it to Charlotte — it was one of the first photographs
by Hugh Morton ever published. It was also the first golf tournament
win for the 14-year-old kid from Tarboro, Harvie Ward.
Aggie and Hugh inherited parcels of some 2,000 acres each of
mountain land from their grandfather in 1952. Hugh used his to create
the Grandfather Mountain scenic attraction. Aggie’s land was situated
in the Linville River Valley, and it occurred to her in 1964 exactly what
Together, Aggie Morton Cocke Woodruff, Hugh Morton, and John Williams conceived, nurtured, and cultivated one of the foremost golf venues in the Carolinas — Grandfather Golf & Country Club.
The Linville, N.C., club celebrated the legacies of the Morton siblings and Williams in 2011 by creating the Founders Cup and holding
an inaugural celebratory tournament last June. Sixty-eight two-man
teams competed in four-ball match play, but one of the main highlights was an evening dinner program that included a short talk given
by Williams, now 93 years old and a summer resident at Grandfather.
“A lot of members felt they had a general idea of the formation of
the club, but not the specifics,” says club Director of Golf Chip King.
“Many were hearing the story for the first time. Now they have a much
better appreciation for what a unique blend of talents and personalities went into creating this wonderful club.”
The story of Grandfather — and, in fact, the town of Linville itself
— begins with Donald MacRae Sr., a Wilmington businessman who developed interests in minerals mining in the mountains in the late 1800s.
He and a group of investors conceived the settlement of Linville and the
20 / CAROLINASGOLF
Photography by Hugh Morton, © 2011 North Carolina
Collection, University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill
There was the crack golfer with the land and the vision.
There was the public relations wizard with his contacts and a camera.
And there was the oil man with deep pockets and a keen business sense.
� Above: Bob Hope, future N.C. Gov. James
Holshouser, Gen. William Westmoreland,
Clifford Roberts, and Bob Kletcke. Opposite
page: Aggie Morton with Ellis Maples.
she could do with it. Frustrated by the crowded conditions at Linville
Golf Club, she said, “I think we need another golf course here.”
The idea sprouted into reality when Aggie hired Ellis Maples, a
Donald Ross disciple. He agreed to design the course within several
of her design parameters: Every hole should be self-contained in the
forest around it, and, where possible, natural mountain backdrops
should be focal points in hole layouts. Construction started in 1965.
“Aggie loved the area and she was excited about the construction and
the building of her dream,” says Bob Kletcke, who at the time was the
assistant pro at Linville GC in the summer and at Augusta National in
the winter. “I can remember her excitement showing me the plans —
she opened them up on the trunk of a car and showed me every hole.
Of course, it’s pretty hard to visualize it looking at a blueprint of what a
hole is going to look like. But it really turned out great.”
As the project evolved, Aggie realized she needed help in the business, marketing, and financial realms. The project was costing significantly more than she had envisioned because of the difficulty of
moving rock and clearing the thick forests to make room for the holes.
That’s when brother Hugh and John Williams stepped in.
Williams grew up in Cuba but spent time in Linville, where he and
Morton met as young boys and became lifelong friends. Williams now
lived in Tulsa, Okla., running the Williams Companies, an oil and gas
exploration concern. Hugh knew his photographic and promotional
skills could tell the story of the new club, and his extensive contacts
in business and government would help grease wheels for permits and
attract interest from potential members. Williams understood how to
talk to bankers and lawyers and negotiate financing. His banker on the
Grandfather account was a young man named Hugh McColl, who was
on the rise at a new bank called North Carolina National Bank — which
he would later build into the financial powerhouse NationsBank.
The club opened with an exhibition in the fall of 1968 that featured
Billy Joe Patton, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, and
Kletcke, who became the club’s first head pro. From the beginning
the course has consistently ranked as one of the top two or three in
� Grandfather No. 6
the state. Between 1971 and 2003, Grandfather G&CC hosted four
Carolinas-Virginias team matches as well as other CGA events.
“We overcame a lot — cost overruns, 21-percent interest rates, oil
prices soaring,” says Williams. “But the beauty of the land and a great
golf course eventually prevailed. We sold all the lots and turned the
club over to the members in the early 1980s.”
That heritage, combined with the club’s desire to create an event
several notches above the typical member-guest, led to the idea for the
Founders Cup, which will become an annual event. Tim Arnoult and
Kevin Glaser won the tournament, beating Robert Gefaell Jr. and Bill
Hyder in the championship match.
“We have a member-guest and various ‘fun’ tournaments,” says
Tournament Chairman Barry Cook. “But we thought, ‘We have such a
wonderful golf course, why not showcase it with a top-notch competitive tournament?’ We drew a very strong field for our first one — five
players with plus-handicaps and 28 at 5 or better.”
The weekend included a Friday night presentation on the contributions of the three founders. Aggie Woodruff and John Williams attended. Williams addressed the group with stories of comedian Bob Hope,
who visited as the guest of club member Gen. William Westmoreland
and brought 11 suitcases for the weekend, and club member Clifford
Roberts, the co-founder of Augusta National Golf Club.
Hugh Morton, who died in 2006, liked to tell the story of the dour
and demanding Roberts visiting the club shortly after its opening.
“Everyone was quivering and quaking, scared to death about his
visit,” Morton said. “I made up my mind I wasn’t going to be intimidated. I didn’t ask him how he liked the course, because I didn’t want
him to have the chance to cut us down.”
On the final day of the visit, Morton had lunch with Roberts.
“Hugh, most mountain golf courses aren’t worth a damn,” Roberts
said. “But this is the best one I’ve seen.”
Over 43 years, most who visit certainly agree.
� Lee Pace is a frequent contributor to Carolinas Golf.
WINTER 2011/12 / 21
LEADERBOARD
2011 CGA Championship Results*
/ CHAMPIONSHIP
/ SITE
/ DATES
/ Winners
3rd Carolinas Young Amateur
Pinewild CC (Magnolia), Pinehurst, N.C. 1/4-5 17th Tar Heel Cup Matches
Dormie Club, West End, N.C.
3/28-29
North Carolina High School Invitational
Treyburn CC, Durham, N.C.
4/4
34th Carolinas Pro-Am Club Championship
The Reserve GC, Pawley’s Island, S.C.
4/11Raleigh CC: B. Smith/B. Kittler
31st Carolinas Mid-Amateur
Carolina GC, Charlotte, N.C.
4/15-17
Paul Tucker
43rd Carolinas Senior Four-Ball
CC of Spartanburg, Spartanburg, S.C. 4/19-21 Frank Ford III/Bill Smunk
8th NC Women’s Senior Pinewood CC, Asheboro, N.C. 4/20-21
60th Carolinas Four-Ball
Camden CC, Camden, S.C.
5/4-8
Scott Harvey/Patrick Brady
Chelsey Couch
Jackson Taylor/ Courtney Boe
CPGA Professionals
Leesville Road HS, Raleigh
Angela Stewart
6th Vicki DiSantis Junior Girls’
Pine Island CC, Charlotte, N.C.
5/7-8
26th NC Senior Amateur
North Ridge CC (Lake), Raleigh, N.C.
5/17-19
Paul Simson
39th SC Amateur Match Play
Carolina CC, Spartanburg, S.C.
6/15-19
Mark Joye
51st NC Amateur Greensboro CC (Farm), Greensboro, N.C. 6/16-19
Harold Varner
NC Junior (44th Boys/15th Girls)
Pine Island CC, Charlotte, N.C.
6/21-24 Stanhope Johnson Jr./Sarah Bae
2nd Carolinas Senior-Junior Championship
Devils Ridge GC, Holly Springs, N.C.
6/27
55th Carolinas Junior Girls’ Championship
Members Club at Woodcreek Farms, Elgin, S.C.
6/28-30
Kelli Murphy
14th Carolinas Women’s Match Play
Cowans Ford CC, Stanley, N.C.
7/12-14
Dawn Woodward
34th SC Junior Match Play (34th Boys/12th Girls)
Sunset CC, Sumter, S.C.
7/12-15 Carson Young/McKenzie Talbert
97th Carolinas Amateur The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 7/14-17
Scott Harvey
3rd Carolinas Super Senior
The Reserve GC, Pawley’s Island, S.C.
7/18-19
Larry Boswell
5th NC Boys 13 & Under Championship
Asheboro Municipal GC, Asheboro, N.C.
7/18-19
James Sugg
45th Twin States Junior Girls’ Championship
Governors Club, Chapel Hill, N.C.
7/26-27 Victoria Allred
62nd Carolinas Junior Boys’ Championship
Gaston CC, Gastonia, N.C.
7/26-28
45th Carolinas Father-Son
Pinehurst area courses
7/29
Walker/Jackson Taylor
45th Carolinas Father-Son
Longleaf CC, Southern Pines
7/29
Scott Azzarelli/Scott Azzarelli II
14th Carolinas Parent-Child
Longleaf CC, Southern Pines, N.C.
7/29
Gary/Elizabeth Robinson
10th Mid-Atlantic Challenge/Junior Girls’ Team
Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C.
7/30-31 John Deluise/ Grayson Murray
Will Long
Virginia-Maryland team
6th Carolinas Pro-Junior Rock Barn Golf & Spa (Jones), Conover, N.C.
8/1
34th Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball 8/2-3
Peg Brady/Patty Moore
Gary Brown/Ron Carpenter
Porters Neck CC, Wilmington, N.C. 11th NC Senior Four-Ball
High Point CC (Willow Creek), High Point, N.C. 8/2-4
2nd NC Amateur Match Play Championship
Bermuda Run CC, Bermuda Run, N.C.
8/3-7
7th Dogwood State Junior (Boys/Girls)
Cutter Creek GC, Snow Hill, N.C.
8/9-11
29th Carolinas-Virginias Junior Matches
Boonsboro CC, Lynchburg, Va.
8/13-14
6th Carolinas Mixed Team
Ocean Ridge Plantation (Panther’s Run), Sunset Beach, N.C.
9/3-4
Mike Byce/Forrest Fowler
Harold Varner
Daniel Brantley/Evelyn Dole
Carolinas Team
Jordan Walor/Shauna Walor
18th NC Mid-Amateur ChampionshipRiver Run CC, Davidson, N.C.
9/9-11
Brian Westveer
50th Carolinas Senior Amateur
Columbia CC, Blythewood, S.C.
9/21-23 John Dennis III
4th NC Super Senior Championship
Cross Creek CC, Mt. Airy, N.C.
9/27-28
Mike Sprouts
16th NC Four-BallRiver Landing (River), Wallace, N.C. 10/7-9 David Donovan IV/ Jonathan Miles
13th Carolinas Women’s Senior
Callawassie Island Club, Callawassie Island, S.C.
10/11-12
Patty Moore
66th Captain’s Putter (Carolinas-Virginias)
Forest Creek GC, Southern Pines, N.C.
10/14-15
Virginias Team
1st Carolinas Net Amateur
Myrtle Beach area courses
11/19-20
NOTE
* Visit carolinasgolf.org for a preliminary schedule of 2012 events and qualifying sites, plus schedules for CGA one-day and senior
four-ball events, CGA Interclub, Tarheel Youth Golf Association tournaments, USGA Championship qualifying sites, and updated
player and team rankings. Reminder: MyCGA users can register for tournaments online at carolinasgolf.org.
22 / CAROLINASGOLF
PROFILE
A Real Northern Exposure
David Canipe was winding up the winter of 2006 officiating on the
Hooters Tour in Florida when his brother phoned with news of a
potential club pro job. Ronnie Canipe is a salesman for Golf Associates
Inc. in Asheville, a leading golf scorecard printer. He told David about a
course located in a sexy resort setting complete with water, stunning
mountain views, and abundant wildlife.
to swipe balls from the practice range. Canipe
“Great, where is it?” David asked.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ronnie an- shares the nine-hole course record with a 33.
“It’s quite a sight,” Canipe says. “There’s
swered, and then went on to tell his brother
nothing like it in Florida or North Carolina.”
more about the job.
“OK, where is it?” David pressed.
“Alaska.”
“Talk to you later, bye.”
Then Canipe, a native of High Point
and a 10-year veteran of the PGA Tour,
began thinking more about it, particularly the potential escape from another hot
Florida summer. He phoned Stanley Jones,
a retired doctor in the southeast Alaska
town of Haines who had built a nine-hole
course on 50 acres he owned alongside
the Chilkat River. Jones was looking to hire
a pro (his original appointee backed out
at the last minute) before the five-month
summer golf season opened in May.
“He said he’d send a round-trip plane
ticket, get me a place to stay, give me a
salary, and let me keep all my lesson income,” Canipe says. “I figured, I can
stand on my head for five months if I have
to. If it’s awful, I’ll survive.”
Canipe moved from Orlando to Alaska
and worked for two seasons at The Valley
� David Canipe won the 1972 Carolinas Amateur.
of the Eagle Golf Links. The nine holes are
Canipe, 58, was an All-America golfer at
built on tidal flats, and several holes are prone
to flooding in the winter. By spring, though, the University of Georgia. He won the 1972
the water recedes and golfers can traverse a Carolinas Amateur, and the 1973 and ’74
3,300-yard course where balls might land in North Carolina Amateur. He turned pro in
moose tracks, bears are catching salmon in 1974 and won the Provident Classic, an event
the distance, and ravens sometimes sweep in on the Tournament Players Series schedule.
24 / CAROLINASGOLF
/ written by Lee Pace
“I made about a million dollars,” he says of
his pro career, “and spent about two million.”
Canipe left the golf business in Haines
after two seasons — after he married Beverly Jones, the proprietor of King’s Store, the
town’s office and photographic supply purveyor. Now Canipe jokes that he’s “executive
vice president” for the family-run shop.
“I was immediately attracted to Beverly,”
Canipe says. “She didn’t wear Carhartt’s and
snow boots, and that caught my attention. So
I finally got up the nerve to ask her out.
Her first response was, ‘Well, I am sorry,
Dave, but I don’t date men from Haines.’
I said, ‘Well, that don’t matter to me. I’m
from Orlando, Florida, so what else you
got?’ I asked her to marry me the second
year I was here. We’ve basically been soul
mates ever since.”
Haines has a population of about 2,500
residents. All the businesses are “mom-andpops,” Canipe says, and there are no bigbox stores or chains.
“We have a nice little niche,” he says.
“I have a three-block walk to work every
morning. The dog walks with me. The
winters aren’t too bad — we’re in the
‘balmy’ part of the state, with the ocean
breezes. Places like Chicago and Minnesota are far more brutal in the winter. Our
problem is we get maybe five hours of
sunlight when December comes around,
and two of those are gray.”
Canipe visits his brother in Waynesville, a sister in Wilmington, and plays
golf at Pinehurst on his trips back east. But
life is good in the Pacific Northwest. “Five
months has turned into five years,” he says.
� Lee Pace is a frequent contributor to
Carolinas Golf.
Photography courtesy of the CGA and iStockphoto
David Canipe Finds Golf ‘Mecca’ in Haines, Alaska
SWING DOCTORS
In the Short Grass
How to Hit More
Fairways
/ written by Karen Nicoletti / illustrations by KEVIN FALES
If you play many different golf courses, have you noticed that each hole
requires a different situation off the tee? Some fairways slope left to
right, some right to left. Some are narrow and some are wide; there are
bunkers on the left and bunkers on the right.
Being accurate with your driver sets the
tone for the rest of the hole, and possibly
the entire round.
There are many holes where, if you’re
even slightly off the fairway, you’re in serious trouble. Accuracy off the tee should
be priority No. 1.
Here are a few tips to keep you in the
short grass.
+ Think ‘7-Iron’
To avoid trouble off the tee, try to swing
your driver like it’s a 7-iron. Why? You
usually hit your 7-iron to a specific distance, rather than thinking you want to hit
it as far as you can. Odds are, you’re trying
to hit your driver as far as you can and
are hoping that it stays in the fairway. The
tendency is to grip it and rip it.
Instead, locate a spot in the fairway and
find the distance from the tee, just like you
would if you were hitting your 7-iron into
a green. Try to drive to a specific distance
and location instead of driving for distance.
A few thoughts to keep in mind:
• Know how far you hit your driver.
• Pick specific targets in the fairway.
• Slow down your swing speed, perhaps
to about 70 percent.
+ Think ‘Safety First’
Keep an eye out for trouble. Consider
whether you even need to hit the driver. Is
it going to put you near or in trouble? If it
might, hit a 3-wood or hybrid instead.
Try to find the widest part of the fairway, so that each time you have a specific
area to hit. Remember that the widest area
is usually the safest area. If you’re not sure
where the safest area is, aim for the 150yard marker — it is usually in a safe spot.
Don’t play it too safe. I always opt for the
safest play, unless it puts me at too large of
a disadvantage. A safe long iron off the tee
isn’t a good idea if it leaves me a long iron
into the green.
+ Use the Tee Box
One thing that can save you short-term is to
use the tee box to your advantage. Tee the
ball up on the far right side of the tee box to
hit away from the trouble on the left. Aim
far enough left that even your biggest slice
will stay out of trouble. If you tend to hook,
reverse the process.
+ Practice Tips
When on the practice tee, visualize a
fairway. Pick out two targets and picture a
narrow one; then pick out two more and
envision a wide one. Practice hitting to the
middle of both. The next time you are on
the tee box, you’ll have more confidence
that you can hit the ball to the middle.
Have fun hitting more fairways, and
watch your score drop!
� Karen Nicoletti is a Class A LPGA golf
professional and runs the Nicoletti Golf Academy
at Grande Dunes Resort. Contact her at
[email protected].
26 / CAROLINASGOLF
FINAL WORD
Ahead of the Curve
A Handicap System for the 21st century
/ written by Jack Nance, CGA Executive Director / illustrations by KEVIN FALES
During my senior year of high school, I took Ms. Burns’ Typing 101
class on a whim. I really didn’t think I’d need to use such rare talent going
forward in my life … but the girls in the class were pretty.
Little did I know, Typing 101 might arguably be the best course I ever took! For the
next 14 years, I became personal friends
with my portable typewriter — it was
certainly useful for college term papers. I
took to adding cartridges and correction
ribbon (at least it was electric!), trying not
to drown in a sea of Wite-Out.
But by 1995, something shocking
happened. Smith-Corona, a company
synonymous with typewriters, declared
bankruptcy. They had failed to adapt to
change. Still, while typewriters themselves
28 / CAROLINASGOLF
became obsolete, the act of typing did not.
With the advent of personal computers, it’s
become a way of life.
As the Carolinas Golf Association heads
into 2012, technology is still changing at
a fast rate — especially the power of the
World Wide Web. Many of our day-today activities require online visits — from
checking bank balances and sports scores
to visiting the addictive Facebook site. And
searching for answers to just about anything
online sure beats heading to the library.
How does this affect you and the CGA?
It’s about keeping pace
with change.
In 1966, the CGA
began a “state-of-the-art”
service for our clubs. This
“new” system provided
18-hole golf score postings
on 11x14 paper sheets
hung on the golf shop
wall. Those reports were
mailed to a computation
service each month. In
turn, the service returned
paper handicap cards that
were effective for the next
month. And 30 days later,
we would do it all again.
In 1990, the CGA
transitioned from the paper
service to computers. We
continued to embrace
change — migrating from
DOS (remember that?) to Windows, and
moving from black-and-white monitors to
colorful, animated touch screens.
Today, we’re at another crossroads. The
CGA is embarking on a cutting-edge, Webbased handicapping service called GN21
(“GN” refers to GolfNet, our handicapping
vendor, and “21” refers to the 21st century).
GN21 provides browser-based software on any computer, with access to the
Internet. Your scores and information are
immediately viewable after posting, and
everything is “real time.” Handicap revisions
are posted automatically on the 1st and
15th of the month.
In short, we’re staying ahead of the curve.
Moving all our
member clubs
to a Webbased system
will allow us to
communicate
one-on-one
more effectively with our golfers and each other.
When using GN21, golfers posting at the
club will see a simple template on a touchscreen monitor, which will make posting
simple. Golfers posting at home can access
a much more interactive experience — from
the ability to make “buddy lists” to checking
the weather.
Best of all? There is no additional cost to
the club!
To date, 75 clubs representing 16,000
CGA members have made the switch. We’d
like to avoid a “Smith-Corona” type of story
and keep moving forward, getting all of our
700-plus member clubs to keep pace in the
21st century … and beyond.
If your club has not made the transition to
GN21, please contact GolfNet’s Tim Heffner at
[email protected] or (800) 875-7888, ext.
101, or contact the CGA at (910) 673-1000.